Flood Waters Still Present Problems – Evacuees Hope to go Home

At a public meeting on Sunday at 2:00 p.m., residents in the areas that have been forced out of their homes will get information about what will happen when they are allowed to return.

At the press briefing on Friday, Adriane Beck, Director of the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management said despite the reduced water levels on the Clark Fork River, it is not safe yet for residents to return to their homes.

“We’re still very much in a flooding scenario,” said Beck. “We still have significant flows going on. We are hopefully looking at a downward trend through the remainder of our flood season. At Sunday’s meeting, we’ll talk to residents about what the recovery effort will look like and the resources that will be available for them. Primarily, there will be mostly government entities on hand to talk about how they determine whether their septic tank has been affected, and how to begin to get their well back on track.”

Beck said homeowners will be asked to fill out a damage assessment.

“That will have to be done to provide individual assistance should that become available through other means,” she said. “We really have two distinct impacts from the flooding. There are homes that have had significant groundwater incursion, and those are the ones with septic and wells, and their recovery picture is different than some of the other areas that we’re seeing. Folks that live in that Tower-Kehrwald area are still seeing active flowing water, and we’ll have conversations with those folks about what their recover process looks like, and it may be a little bit longer before they can begin that recovery process. The river is changing every day, and the flood has certainly changed the river channel, and those conversations will have to continue with those folks.”

The National Weather Service said the flooding will begin to recede slowly as the month of June progresses.

Below, find the topics that will be covered in the Flood Recovery Packet to be issued to residents at Sunday’s public meeting.

Post Flood Damage Assessment – Missoula County Public Works

Permit Requirements – Missoula County Community and Planning Services and Missoula County Public Works